I, the screenwriter, have experienced a resurgence of inspiration.

Upon seeing the three people at the door, the man's face immediately lit up with surprise: "Hello, I'm Ding Feifan. I was the one who made the announcement earlier. Please come in!"

He quickly walked down, reaching out to help them, then, remembering something, pointed to the side of the stage:

"There are a few other classmates inside. Everyone's there. We just met up not long ago."

The three of them breathed a sigh of relief and walked into the auditorium.

Sure enough, there were four people sitting in the rest area on the side of the stage.

The two girls were standing close together, and they appeared to be a couple.

The person wearing a white T-shirt, with a high ponytail and steady eyes, was looking down at the "Student Code of Conduct" in their hand; it was Weng Yang.

The other person sitting next to her, with a wary look in their eyes, was Tan Moli.

There was another boy, wearing a flashy T-shirt, sitting in a chair with his legs crossed, twirling a pen in his hand, with an indescribable excitement on his face.

This is Chow Sang Sang.

The last girl sat in the corner, wearing a dress, head down, quiet and almost invisible; it was Fu Qinqin.

Including Ding Feifan, there are five people in total.

Including Liu Guilan and the other two, there are exactly eight people.

Let me introduce myself first.

Ding Feifan adjusted his glasses, trying to keep his tone gentle.

"My name is Ding Feifan, and I am a freshman counselor in the School of Economics."

Last night I was working overtime organizing files when a fog rolled in, and here I am.

I went to the broadcasting room this morning and tried broadcasting, and I didn't expect to actually reach you.

He pointed to Weng Yang and Tan Moli: "These two students were the first to arrive. Weng Yang and Tan Moli are from the school's Youth League Committee. They spent the night in the administration building office."

Weng Yang raised his head and nodded to the three of them as a greeting.

Tan Moli gave a somewhat distant smile.

"That's Chow Sang Sang, from the Computer Science Department. He just arrived not long ago."

Ding Feifan pointed again, "He came in from the dormitory. He was playing games before he came in."

Chow Sang-sang raised his chin, as if to greet the three people.

However, their gaze swept over me, scrutinizing me from head to toe, which made me very uncomfortable.

"That's Fu Qinqin in the corner, from the School of Literature. She was studying for her postgraduate entrance exam all night in the library yesterday, and she just suddenly walked in."

Ding Feifan added.

Fu Qinqin raised her head, nodded slightly to the three of them, and then lowered her head again.

Deng Ziwen and the other two also introduced themselves.

"My name is Deng Ziwen, and I'm a senior in college. This is my girlfriend, Zhao Weilai. We had a fight by the lake last night, and then she came in."

This is Aunt Liu Guilan, a cafeteria worker. We met her at the artificial lake; she even saved our lives.

Liu Guilan smiled sheepishly and said, "There's no need to talk about saving them. It was just a coincidence. It's good that they're alright."

After the eight people got to know each other, the atmosphere eased a little.

But it's only a little bit.

After all, no one can truly relax when they're in a bizarre dungeon.

……

……

"Let's all tell you what happened last night."

Ding Feifan spoke first, "Let's gather the information so we can figure out what's going on."

He had barely finished speaking when Chow Sang Sang burst out laughing:

"What else could it be? It's a dungeon, a supernatural dungeon, of course."

Just like in the novels, completing the mission will allow you to leave, and you'll even gain superpowers; who knows, you might even become a superhero.

His face was full of excitement, and his eyes were shining:

"Let me tell you, I've always felt that this world is extraordinary, and sure enough, it's my turn now!"

Do you understand what it means to be the chosen one? Once I clear a few dungeons and gain superpowers, I'll be set for life!

The group was stunned for a moment, looking at his excited appearance, speechless.

What era are we living in? Still dreaming of getting rich?

It's not even certain whether we'll get out alive.

Ding Feifan frowned and advised:

"Dude, don't get agitated. I don't think things are that simple."

Forget about dungeons or anything like that, it's too far-fetched. I'm more inclined to think we might have encountered some kind of unknown attack, like...

For example, a new type of nerve gas, or some kind of optical weapon, could induce collective hallucinations, or even... it could be aliens.

"alien?"

Zhou Shengsheng curled his lip. "Instructor Ding, you're too naive. How can a hallucination make ten people have the same hallucination at the same time?"

Hallucinations can make people disappear out of thin air? I think you've gone mad from reading too much. A golden opportunity is right in front of you, and you're still hesitating.

"You!" Ding Feifan was a little angry, but he held back. "No matter what it is, we have to stick to science."

"Science?" Chow Sang Sang chuckled. "Go talk to a ghost about science when you encounter one."

"Alright, stop arguing."

Weng Yang interrupted them, his voice calm, "Arguing about this is pointless. Whether it's an illusion or a real copy, we're in the same situation now."

"Everyone, gather the information first; figuring out a way to get out is the most important thing."

She pointed to the campus map on the ground:

"Last night, Jasmine and I hid in the administration building office. Because of the rules, we didn't dare to wander around, so we locked the door and stayed there all night."

As the rule says, "Go to sleep as soon as possible after lights out," so we went to sleep very early and nothing happened during the night.

There were slaps being made on the windowpane from outside, but we didn't dare look.

Tan Moli added in a low voice, "Yeah, we filmed all night...it scared me to death. Luckily, Weng Yang said we couldn't watch, so we just covered our heads and went to sleep."

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

Were you tapping on the glass all night?

What is that?

"The three of us stayed in the cafeteria."

Liu Guilan glanced at Zhao Weilai and Deng Ziwen, "Actually, something came in from the second floor in the middle of the night yesterday."

It was wet, and I didn't know what it was. It wandered around on the second floor for half the night, and then it scratched at the door.

I held the door shut to prevent it from coming in, and it didn't leave until almost dawn—I didn't tell you because I was afraid you two would be scared.

Zhao Weilai and Deng Ziwen were naturally filled with lingering fear.

Ding Feifan listened with a serious expression and took notes in his notebook.

"I was luckier."

Chow Sang Sang casually said, "I woke up in my dorm room and was about to go out to take a look when I saw something in white clothes floating around in the hallway."

I simply locked the door, slept, and came out at dawn, following the announcements to get here.

He spoke casually, but everyone could tell that he must have encountered a ghost last night as well.

—He just won't share.

Finally, everyone's eyes fell on Fu Qinqin in the corner.

Fu Qinqin paused for a moment, then looked up and spoke in a very soft voice:

"I...I was in the library, and after the power went out, everyone disappeared."

I hid behind the bookshelf and stayed there all night.

I didn't encounter anything particularly unusual, it's just that... I kept hearing someone turning pages in my ear.

Her voice was soft and slightly trembling, and she sounded genuinely frightened.

"The sound of pages turning?" Weng Yang frowned. "From the library?"

"Hmm." Fu Qinqin nodded, then lowered her head again: "It's right behind the head, keep turning it over and over."

Everyone fell silent.

"No, aren't you scared?" Zhao Weilai couldn't help but ask, "If it were me, I'd be terrified."

Fu Qinqin pursed her lips and said quietly, "I thought it was some senior student who went crazy from taking the postgraduate entrance exam."

For a moment, no one objected.

Ghosts are nothing compared to the postgraduate entrance exam.

……

……

In the end, Ding Feifan gave the summary.

Their experiences were all different, but they had one thing in common:

This deserted campus is fraught with danger.

Moreover, those things all seem to have one thing in common—if you don't look at them, ignore them, or break the rules, they won't attack you on their own.

Just like Weng Yang and the others forced themselves to ignore the slaps outside the window, nothing bad happened.

Liu Guilan and the others held the door shut, and the water ghost couldn't get in.

Chow Sang Sang locked the door, and the white-clad ghost didn't go in.

Fu Qinqin didn't turn around, and the sound of turning pages didn't hurt her.

"It seems that following the rules, not looking around, not moving around, and not provoking others is the safest approach."

Weng Yang then summarized, "The rules of the game state 'abide by the student code of conduct,' which should include this meaning. If you behave yourself and don't do anything reckless, you're less likely to get into trouble."

Everyone nodded, agreeing that it made sense.

At that moment, black ink-wash characters appeared simultaneously in everyone's field of vision.

[Warning: Players Luo Yiming and Fang Wei violated student rules by intentionally damaging campus facilities, triggering the penalty mechanism.]

[Punishment: Placed in a punishment room and confined for twelve hours. Automatically released after twelve hours.]

[Punishment Countdown: 11:57:32]

The sudden notification stunned everyone.

A punishment room?

Two out of ten people have already been detained for violating regulations?

"I was wondering why the other two hadn't contacted us. They should have arrived by now."

Ding Feifan's expression changed. "What did they do? They actually broke the rules?"

"Damaging public facilities..." Zhao Weilai repeated softly, his heart tightening.

Fortunately, they were careful enough.

"Who knows?"

Chow Sang-sang made no attempt to hide his schadenfreude: "Haven't you read novels? In game instances, the first to die are these kinds of stupid people who break the rules."

Nobody paid him any attention; everyone was worried about those two people.

Twelve hours.

With only 72 hours of mission time in total, one-sixth of that time was suddenly reduced.

Nobody knows what's in the punishment room.

Is it just solitary confinement, or is there something far more terrifying in the room?

—In either case, the survival rate of these two people was greatly reduced.

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.

Those who had been clinging to a sliver of hope were now fully awake.

This isn't a game; people can really die from it.

Rules are not just for show; violating them will really result in punishment.

……

"Alright, everyone, don't panic."

Ding Feifan was the first to come to his senses. He clapped his hands and reassured everyone, "Although the two students were punished, at least they are still alive and will be out in twelve hours."

Our most important task right now is to hurry up and complete the daily check-in task.

The time they wasted can be used to scout out the way for them, and once they emerge, we can catch up directly.

He paused, looked at everyone, and spoke sincerely:

"My suggestion is that we should not split up and instead travel together as a team."

After all, there is strength in numbers, and people can help each other in case of danger.

We found the three locations associated with the ghost stories in order and visited them one by one.

I can walk at the very back and cover for everyone. As long as we work together, we're sure we'll get out together.

After he finished speaking, he looked at the crowd and waited for their response.

Zhao Weilai immediately nodded: "I agree! It's safer to team up!"

Deng Ziwen naturally echoed his girlfriend's sentiment: "I agree too."

Liu Guilan quickly said, "I agree! I feel more at ease with more people around."

Tan Moli grabbed Weng Yang's arm: "Weng Yang, shall we join the others?"

Weng Yang pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Okay. Teaming up is definitely safer than going it alone."

Fu Qinqin also whispered, "I...I'll go with everyone else too."

Of the seven people, six agreed.

Only Chow Sang Sang remained.

Everyone looked at him, but he shook his head and gave a cold laugh:

"Team up? Bringing along a bunch of burdens will only lead to an even faster demise."

He glanced sideways at the crowd, his tone disdainful:

"Director Ding, with your saintly heart, you won't survive more than three episodes in this dungeon."

Do you know what decisive action means? Do you know what it means to protect yourself wisely? The pushover will be the first to die.

"How dare you talk like that!" Deng Ziwen frowned, a little angry. "Isn't it better to work together? It's always better to look out for each other than to be alone, isn't it?"

"Strong? Strong my ass."

Chow Sang-sang pursed her lips, "When danger comes, the slowest one will be the one to take the fall. If I go with you guys, I'll have to look after you and cause delays."

He walked to the door, stopped, turned back and smiled:

"Let me give you a piece of advice: don't trust the people around you too much. In the face of life and death, no amount of friendship or teacher-student bond will matter."

After saying that, he opened the door and walked out without looking back.

The door slammed shut, and the auditorium fell silent once more.

"What kind of person is this?" Zhao Weilai was inexplicably angry. "How selfish!"

Reality is not a novel, much less a movie.

—Ordinary people don't face that many life-or-death crises in their daily lives.

If someone could be so decisive and ruthless as to immediately become cold-blooded after being detached from reality, that would be truly terrifying.

"Never mind, everyone has their own ambitions."

Ding Feifan sighed, "If he doesn't want to, then so be it. We can't force him. I hope he can stay safe on his own."

He said that, but in reality, he didn't think much of Chow Sang Sang.

When you're alone, you're in danger and have no one to help you.

……

Weng Yang looked in the direction of the door, lost in thought.

"These are the 'Student Code of Conduct' and the Jiangcheng University promotional brochure that Jasmine found in the administration building office."

There's a paper map inside; we can follow the route to search for the ghost stories.

She glanced down at the locations of the "artificial lake" and the "administration building" on the map and made a guess:

"I think we can go and take a look at these two places first. Of these two places, the artificial lake is the closest to the auditorium, and it's only a five-minute walk away."

Let's start with the nearby lake and then move on to the farther ones, shall we?

Everyone agreed that what she said made sense.

"I did see ghost stories about Jiangcheng University when I browsed forums before."

They say it's a ghost from the artificial lake, a ghost dressed in red who jumped from the old school building, and a ghost from the abandoned toilets in the old teaching building.

Ding Feifan immediately nodded: "I think it's very likely related to our mission."

Since their lives were at stake, no one dared to delay for a moment. After a quick pack, they prepared to set off.

Zhao Weilai walked over to Deng Ziwen and whispered a reminder: "Ziwen, let's be careful later and take care of Aunt Liu."

Deng Ziwen smiled and encouraged the two of them: "Don't worry, we'll definitely get out of here, and then we can continue arguing."

Liu Guilan gripped the wooden stick tightly, her palms sweating.

She glanced nervously at the expressions of the people around her, her gaze lingering in mid-air before finally shifting away after a moment.

Tan Moli clutched Weng Yang's clothes, her face pale.

Fu Qinqin remained expressionless, and it was unclear what she was thinking.

Ding Feifan walked at the very back.

The crowd pushed open the auditorium doors, and a white mist instantly rushed in, carrying a damp, fishy smell.

What lies ahead, whether it be life or death, no one knows.

……

……

"Another special player with a unique talent class?"

Meanwhile, outside the instance, in a rented room near the desolate mountain, Song Mo, who was watching the instance's progress in real time, suddenly brightened up:

"Auntie, I'm rooting for you! Please don't die!"

The image, enveloped in ink-wash calligraphy, slowly moved upwards, finally landing on Liu Guilan, who had an honest-looking face.

Clay Sculptor (Blue)

[Talent Skill: Clay Sculptor (Can create clay figures using special clay, with a 10% chance to withstand one non-fatal attack. The more similar the clay figure is to the model, the higher its defensive capabilities.)]

Cooldown time: 24 hours